For publicity and political space the Aam Aadmi Party can go to any heinous extent. Desperate for a little political space in the eastern Odisha State, AAP has offered membership to dreaded Maoist, Sabyasachi Panda.

Highly placed police sources insist that Panda’s arrest is just a matter of time given the fact that he was seriously injured in a shootout with police at Salimagochha forest near Merikot in Ganjam district on February 15. The Maoist leader’s right leg has been hit by a bullet but he managed to escape.

Last week, police arrested at least six of Panda’s close associates including three women who corroborated Panda’s injury, police said.

Police sources said AAP-Sabyasachi Panda political negotiation has been going on since January following the Maoist leader’s attempt to manage political space in ruling Biju Janata Dal failed. Panda has supposedly offered to “surrender” as the precondition for a safe political route to join mainstream.

Next, it was AAP with its Odisha unit openly saying that the party was not averse to absorb Panda.

“We are not opposed to anyone joining the party as long as someone willing to operate within our constitutional framework, AAP’s Odisha convener Nishikanta Mohapatra told reporters.

Of course, from a party which never had any qualms to hand over Jammu & Kashmir to the enemy, the move to court Panda never came as a surprise. AAP’s sympathy for all extreme elements inimical to India’s interest is now virtually well known.

Panda is a deadly criminal who operate on the sinister garb of being an ultra-left radical ostensibly to fight for the poor. But in reality he has been an evangelist stooge who had claimed responsibility for the murder of revered Hindu Monk, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in 2008.

Same year, Panda was the mastermind behind the Nayagarh police armoury loot and killing of several policemen.

In 2011 he parted company with CPI (Maoist) and formed a new outfit called Odisha Maobadi Party (OMP).

In 2012, he was instrumental in the kidnapping of two Italian tourists whom he later released unharmed.

Panda is well connected to the leftist fringe in Odisha including missionary- aided NGOs, human rights bleed hearts and select journalists who keep singing the chorus of his “return to mainstream”.

Since most of the AAP Odisha leaders are from NGO sector like their Delhi counterparts, it’s not very unusual for them to invite Maoists to the party fold.

One jawan has been feared killed and three to four others have been injured in an on-going encounter between the Naxals and the security forces in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, sources in the police have said.

The Naxals attacked 50 personnel in a joint team of the CRPF and the state police around 10:30 this morning.

The attack reportedly happened in Tongpal near Jeeram valley, where many senior Congress leader of the state were killed in a Naxal ambush last year.

Two choppers sent in from Jagdalpur and Raipur to the scene of the Naxal attack in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. Firing has stopped. Bodies of jawans taken to Sukma. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh calls for an emergency meet after the naxal attack

The Maoist insurgency boiling out of India's tribal heartland has been called the greatest threat to the nation by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But that's about it, as Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel leading the drive to counter the Maoist rebels remain handicapped by a severe shortage of basic life-saving gear like bulletproof helmets.

The CRPF, the main force responsible for tackling the Maoist insurgency, has only 800 such helmets against the sanctioned 50,000, highly placed sources told Mail Today. The March 3 attack at Sukma in Chhattisgarh, in which 15 security personnel, including 11 from the CRPF, were gunned down, is a chilling reminder of this criminal neglect: sources said most of the deaths were caused by bullet injuries to the head.

Officials who have served on the ground said head injuries are one of the most common causes of death. " It's the head which is exposed when a soldier takes his position and tries to fire at the enemy in combat," said one officer.

The Sukma bloodbath has finally roused the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) from its slumber. The ministry has decided to fast-track the acquisition of bulletproof helmets for the CRPF. "In the wake of the recent attack and keeping in mind the threat perception ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the matter has been expedited and soon the required number of bulletproof helmets will be provided to the CRPF," said an MHA official.

Sources said that after the recent attack in Chhattisgarh, the CRPF reiterated its concerns to Home Secretary Anil Goswami. The force was assured that the bulletproof helmets would be provided "soon". While the standard operating procedures of the Army clearly state that every soldier in insurgency- hit areas will be provided with a bulletproof helmet, the rules are different for jawans fighting the biggest insurgency in the country.

In fact, sources said CRPF personnel fighting Maoists deep inside jungles are more vulnerable as compared to their counterparts taking on militants in Jammu and Kashmir or insurgents in the North-east.

A plan to push the rebels to the backfoot ahead of the elections seems to have failed with Maoists killing over 20 security personnel in the past three weeks in Chhattisgarh. Six personnel were killed in an attack in Dantewada district on February 28.

MHA officials concede that " red tape and bureaucratic lethargy" are responsible but can't help pinning part of the blame on paramilitary forces.

"They often send a list of big demands and it is realised later that the equipment sought is not being put to use. As a flip side to this, some genuine and most basic requirements are ignored," said an official.

The CRPF, with a strength of nearly 2.9 lakh, has the greatest presence in states affected by Maoist violence, with 85,000 to 90,000 personnel serving in the red zone alone.

Statistics also show that personnel are more vulnerable in Maoist zones than anywhere else in the country.

The number of security personnel killed between 2011 and 2013 was 371 in states hit by Maoist violence.

The total number of incidents of violence in the red zone was 4,311.

High intensity conflict hit zones like Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Manipur seem safer than Maoist bastions in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh or Orissa, where the majority of killings of security personnel killings have occurred. The total death toll in all insurgency-hit areas during 2011- 13 has been 239 and the number of incidents of violence stood at 3,123.

The sources said besides bulletproof helmets, other basic requirements like jungle boots have not been provided for the past three years. There are also other problems like a financial crunch faced by paramilitary forces like the CRPF. As part of the police modernisation plan, the CRPF was allocated ` 918 crore for 2012- 13 and 2013- 14 but got only Rs 20 crore.

To make matters worse, states affected by Naxalite violence owe a whopping Rs 7,163 crore to CRPF, which accounts for 60 per cent of the total amount of Rs 11,930 crore that states have to pay to the force for internal security duties.

This is more than the total amount of Rs 10,932 crore sanctioned for seven paramilitary forces under the police modernisation plan for a period of five years from 2012 to 2017, but the government has been reluctant to release the money.

Red tape affecting anti-Naxal operations

A 2010 proposal for installing mobile towers in states hit by Maoist activities is incomplete.

Shortage of bulletproof helmets and jungle boots for jawans fighting Maoists; 800 available against sanctioned number of 50,000.

Naxal- hit states owe a whopping Rs 7,163 crore to CRPF Police modernisation funds have not been provided to paramilitary forces.

Khunti: In yet another Naxal attack in the run up to polls, three policemen have been injured in Jharkhand in a landmine blast on Tuesday morning.

Three police personnel including a station in-charge were injured in the Naxal attack that took place in Khunti.

This is the second Naxal strike in a month .

Three police personnel including a station in-charge were injured in the Naxal attack that took place in Khunti.
It was on March 13 that a CRPF personnel and a police official were injured in an encounter between security forces and Naxals in the Latehar district of Jharkhand.

GAYA: Maoists blew up two mobile towers exploding powerful bombs, on Thursday, in two areas of Gaya district ahead of two election rallies of BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

About one hundred Maoists gathered in the areas and blew up two mobile towers of a private company by exploding powerful bombs at Manjhauli and Dumaria Bazar villages late last night, superintendent of police Nishant Tewari said.

The Maoists have called a bandh in the Maoist-hit districts of south central part of the state in protest against the killing of ten of their cadres in Chhatra recently.

Modi is scheduled to address two election rallies at Maoist-hit Sasaram and Gaya on Thursday afternoon.

Gaya: In a major security lapse, Maoists exploded powerful bombs in two areas of Gaya district and blew up two mobile towers ahead of two election rallies of Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Thursday.

According to Superintendent of Police Nishant Tewari, nearly 100 Maoists gathered in the areas and blew up two mobile towers of a private company by exploding powerful bombs at Manjhauli and Dumaria Bazar villages late Wednesday night.

The ultras have called a bandh in the Maoist-hit districts of south central part of the state in protest against the killing of 10 of their cadres in Chhatra recently.

Modi is scheduled to address two election rallies at Maoist-hit Sasaram and Gaya this afternoon.

"We have anticipated all types of threats from the Maoists and terrorists. Security arrangements are being made accordingly," Director General of Police (DGP) Abhayanand had said yesterday.

At least seven people, including a suspected bomber, were killed and nearly 100 injured just ahead of a rally by Modi in Patna on October 27, 2013.

The brain behind last year's blasts in Patna and Bodh Gaya, Indian Mujahideen operative Tehseen Akhtar alias Monu, has been arrested by the Delhi police from Rajasthan.

The Bihar government has decided to deploy 48,000 security personnel in six Maoist-affected Lok Sabha constituencies to ensure peaceful polling there. The six constituencies are Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Karakat, Jamui, Gaya and Sasaram.

A hardcore Maoist carrying a reward of Rs one lakh on his head was shot dead in an encounter with security forces in Odisha's Koraput district, police said Monday.

The slain Maoist, identified as Purna Huluka alias Khatru of Basanaput village, was gunned down in an exchange of fire with personnel of District Voluntary Force (DVF) in Narayanpatna area late last night, they said.

The ultra was an armed cadre and an active member of the banned CPI (Maoist). Involved in many crimes, the slain rebel was also suspected to have played a major role in several murders in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon area of Koraput district, police said.

A reward of Rs one lakh had been announced by Odisha government for the arrest of Huluka, they said.

Koraput/Nuapada: Two maoist ultras, including a woman, were killed during separate encounters in Odisha’s Nuapada and Koraput districts, police said today. While the Maoist, identified as Purna Huluka alias Khatru of Basanaput village, was gunned down in an exchange of fire with personnel of District Voluntary Force (DVF) in Narayanpatna area of Koraput late last night, the body of a woman Maoist was found after encounter between ultras and Special Operation Group (SOG) jawans inside Sunabeda sanctuary in Nuapada district today.

Huluka was an armed cadre and active member of the outlawed CPI(Maoist) and carrying a reward of Rs one lakh on his head. The slain rebel was also suspected to have played a major role in several murders in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon area of Koraput district, police said.

A combing operation had been launched in the area after the incident. A report from Nuapada said a woman maoist was killed during an exchange of fire inside Sunabeda sanctuary. The Ultras, however, fled the area leaving the body of the woman behind. The security personnel found a gun, live cartridges and other ammunitions from the spot.

“The identity of the woman Maoist is yet to be ascertained and we suspect more casualties on the side of the red rebels. The combing operation has been intensified further to track down the ultras”, a senior police officer said.